Bob Arum believes Teofimo Lopez was listening to ‘the wrong people’ as he suffered some difficulties in his career.
Lopez suffered a defeat to George Kambosos Jr. in November 2021, losing four belts at lightweight to his Australian champion.
That led to a decision to move up to super lightweight, and two fights to get used to his new surroundings didn’t offer much reason for optimism, but he produced an outstanding showing to take Josh Taylor’s WBO belt from him last summer.
That was then followed by a seeming retirement from the sport, though he never actually relinquished his WBO strap and will defend it tonight against Jamaine Ortiz ( live on ESPN+ in the US ).
The 26-year-old has been an enigmatic character in boxing over the last few years but his promoter Bob Arum believes that his current mindset could see him become a ‘major star.’
“If he keeps his head on straight and acts like he’s acting now,” he said to BoxingScene.com , “he can be a major star because he’s a fun guy and I think he has begun to understand that boxing is not only a sport, but it’s also the entertainment business.
“He’s a character. You always laugh when he’s on.”
Discussing his previous difficulties, Arum suggested: “He was listening to the wrong people.
“We can’t spend 24/7 with any one fighter, because we have so many fighters and we’re doing so many programs. So, sometimes when we’re not around, he has people buzzing in his ear about this and that, and they become discontented. But I think his eyes are open now, and I look for a great and fun career from him.
“He’s in a great state of mind. Jamaine Ortiz is a very difficult fight, but there are a lot of rewards, obviously, on the other side for him.”
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